Two Terrific Years and the Totally Tubular Tetons

When we were trying to figure out what to do for our second anniversary, we knew we couldn't take any time off of work, so we knew we'd have to go somewhere close. We thought about just going to Salt Lake for the weekend, but then decided HELLO, the Tetons are only a little bit further away and a lot cooler. So, it's now a kind of tradition to spend our anniversary at Grand Teton National Park.

We left on Friday night after Tanner got home from work, and it was quite the drive. Tanner is really funny in case you didn't know. Also, it was snowing pretty hard for the last hour or so, but we finally made it to our hotel at Teton Village. It was FREEZING there. I am definitely not acclimated to winter yet. After a nice sleep in a King sized bed (ahhhhh. King beds are so nice and roomy) we woke up and got breakfast. Then we headed into the park!

We first stopped at the visitor's center and it turned out to be one of the best parts of the weekend because a fox ran RIGHT BY US! It was so cool, I've never seen a fox in the wild before and its tail was just as fluffy as I hoped it would be. If you zoom in really close, you can see it in this picture.

Then we headed to Jenny Lake. There was a lot more snow than we anticipated haha! We were trudging through a ton of snow, but we were the only ones there and it was amazing. 

We also saw a weasel type animal on this hike! 2 animals in the first 30 minutes of being in the park! Record!

This place seriously blows my mind every time we are here. It is unreal. I kept telling Tanner that I'm sure a lot of great ideas occurred right here because it's just so peaceful and inspiring.

We were cracking up at this pic because I look like a GIANT.

He's the best!

And the strongest ;) 

I kept singing "The sun will come out, tomorrow!" because I was mad that it was so cloudy and the tops of the mountains were covered! (Unfortunately, it never really cleared up.)

Then, we headed to the trailhead for Taggart Lake. It's about 3 miles and it's such a fun trail.

We hiked back out to our car (and ran into my friend Karli from USU cross country! Small world!) and got inside. When we tried to start the car, it would not start. Like at all. AHHH! We were stranded in the middle of a national park. There were a few people in the parking lot and we asked them if they had jumper cables, but no one did! (Or no one was willing to help us haha). So we called the visitor's center and they sent a ranger to help us. (Although it took him like 40 minutes to get there. So fun.) So he was trying to jump his car and it was not working. And he kept asking Tanner, "What do you want to do?" and we're like... "ummm... what can we do?" haha. Finally, he pulled out some different jumper cables and it finally worked. I was so relieved. So we decided to drive to Jackson and get a new battery to avoid any further mishaps. A few hours later, we were good as new. It was quite the adventure, there's nothing like using vacation time for car maintenance. But, I'm adding "park rangers" to my thankful list this year.

We ran back to our hotel, showered, and then headed to Liberty Burger! Ever since last year, I've been dreaming about their hamburgers and sweet potato fries and it did not disappoint. They are sooooo good. Then we walked around the shops in Jackson and Tanner bought some snow boots! (How he has gone 26 years without actual winter boots, I'm not sure. But I finally convinced him to purchase some and now he realizes that he's had cold feet for years for no reason.) 

Sunday morning, we headed back into the park. Unfortunately, I gave the wrong directions and passed the turnoff for the hike we were supposed to do. Fortunately, on the way back, we saw a bear! There were a bunch of cars on the side of the road so we slowed down, looked over, and there was a small black bear eating some berries (I think) in the trees! It was way cool! We didn't get a picture so you'll just have to believe us. 

The hike we did this morning was to Phelps Lake. We hadn't done this hike before, and I thought it was really cool.

 All of the hikes were so nice because there was hardly anyone else there. We were walking through the forest by ourselves, it was kind of eerie and amazing at the same time. The lake was probably the prettiest lake I've ever seen. 

These are some of my all time favorite pictures of us. Thank you self timer!

So candid haha

I love this picture so much. We're so funny. Also weird.

Next we headed to Mormon Row. There are some barns and houses that some LDS members made when they settled the area. It was pretty cool, and VERY windy!

This is the famous Moulton barn. 

The rest of the day we just drove around the park, stopped at some overlooks, didn't see any moose (unfortunately), and ended the day at Jackson Lake. 

At one point, Tanner was shoving a piece of bread in his mouth and mumbled, "What's not to love, baby?" and I spewed water out of my mouth I was laughing so hard. Marriage. It's the best.

Also I asked Tanner for his best moose impression and he didn't disappoint:

Then, we drove through Jackson, ate some pizza, and headed home. We listened to 3 This American Life podcasts on the way home which was a great use of time.

I am so thankful to be married to Tanner. I am such a worrier, and he is the best at helping me see the reasons not to worry. I like to go go go, he helps me relax. He's the kindest, most patient, and most fun person in the world. We were talking about our favorite memory from the past year and whether or not we enjoyed the first year or the second year better. We unanimously agreed that the second year was far better haha. I have cried a lot less haha and we just get each other! We're more in synch and we have so much fun. I have a feeling year three will be even better. 

Happy Anniversary, love! I'm so glad that you're my road trip partner forever.